Generations X and Y suffer boomer-angst

The Washington Times ^ | 12-12-05 | Martha Irvine

[dljordan]

I guess you have to blame someone.

[dakine]

are doing that Gen-X and Y will end up paying for.

Don't worry, Generation Z, Alpha or Beta will pay for it...

[dljordan]

"Oh, THAT'S never been the case before."

Yes, it's an entirely new concept invented every generation.

[misterrob]

No, some of us simply don't feel like having to pick up the tab for boomers and their government entitlements. Who's paying for their drug benefits? Not the boomers but the generations coming after them and the self-absorbed lot of them could care less.

[lawgirl]

I think that materialism is our generation's problem (Xer here..12.28.74 birthday FWIW). We were the first generation raised really on the designer label-- we all had to have Guess jeans and that stupid horse on our shirts and grew up idolizing "Friends". Life is not a Friends episode. It's hard-and it's a wake up call to realize that you have to work hard for what you have and it's not all going to be given to you.

The one thing that I also see is wealthy boomers leaving it all to our generation--this generation sees that and combined with our expensive taste and few of us are doing much saving I think.

[Melas]

Wrong Qam. Most people don't dislike people because of their age.

[dakine]

The 20s' had their must wear clothes, 50s/60s also, etc...

Every generation believes they have discovered something new...

[BunnySlippers]

Cheese with that whine? You're talking to conservative boomers who have made sure they're taking care of themselves.

Go cry in your double latte and pick this thread up on DU.

[The Phantom FReeper]

Everyone is overworked, overstressed. No one's spending the kind of time that they want with their kids or their spouses or partners. And I think part of that can be attributed to the boomers," says Miss Lovett, 27.

So let me get this straight. She complains that people her age are all stressed out, and blames it on people her parents' age? Typical self-absorbed twentysomething that doesn't want to have to take responsibility for anything. Perhaps she should have some better time management, and a better perspective on what is important in life.

[birbear]

I think that materialism is our generation's problem (Xer here..12.28.74 birthday FWIW).

From what I've seen (I'm an Xer, too [1/10/1971]) Xer's had more pressure put on them to achieve more in a shorter amount of time than previous generations. Materialism may have been a cause of that. (Most Xers I know have Boomer parents. They left their parent's home and immediately felt it necessary to have the latest and greatest because that's what they left. It was "necessary" to have the 46" TV, the DVD player, the higher end furniture, higher end car, etc.) Most Xer homes I visit are decorated better than my parents. (And my parents were the "in between" Generation. They were born during WWII, so they were pre-boomer, but post-depression.)

It's no surprise that if you visit mental hospitals today, a good portion of the clientele are Xers. Burned out at 30. Most are trying to live life like a 45-50 year old, at 25-30.

And Generation Y is even worse. My best friend's brother is 22. He's in grad school (bio engineering) and holding down two jobs, so he can afford better computer equipment than his dad. He already drives a Cadillac. And he's quite the clothes horse -- designer everything. He'll be in therapy before he's 30, too, I bet.

[Tax-chick]

Yes, that was a new level of blame-shifting, in my experience. It's certainly not unusual for young-ish people to be unhappy about this or that - iirc, I wasn't too thrilled at 27 that my husband hadn't finished college yet :-) - but holding the baby-boom generation responsible is a novel approach.

[bvw]

As long as the batteries last.

[postaldave]

don't suck the life out of us with your entitlement needs or come wining when you spent all your money on lottery and bingo and nobody will get hurt.(smiles)

[BunnySlippers]

Dont' bother to (smile).

I work with quite a number of Xs and Ys in my field. We are friends and share emails about politics. The Gen Xs & Ys I meet in real life are terrific. The ones I meet on this site are cry babies.

And I'm beginning to see that there is a segment of your generation that just complains ...

[lawgirl]

Oh I TOTALLY agree with you about Gen Y as well!!! They are completely obsessed with celebrity culture - it is completely alarming. My brother (born 8/31/82) is on his second Ipod in a year and the girls that work with me are completely absurd--mostly living with their parents, spending all their money on going out, new $200 Coach purses and $85 Tshirts and makeup from Sephora. They all want to be Paris Hilton and are really serious about trying to live that lifestyle.

The interesting thing about it is the way that women's lib seems to have backfired with these girls in that the way they see getting all these things they want is by marrying someone with money or the potential for money- they are not interested in getting an education and working hard- they want it NOW and how to get it now is by marrying rich.

[stylin19a]

...loudly proclaiming that people in her generation need to work less...

Could always move to France ....

[Tamar1973]

We were the first generation raised really on the designer label-- we all had to have Guess jeans and that stupid horse on our shirts....

We are NOT the first generation with "designer" clothes. Although we might be the first generation to make neon a fashion statement.

[Tamar1973]

new $200 Coach purses...

Maybe at a consignment store. Most of the Coach purses I've seen have been in the $300 to $400 range. It's crazy to have a purse worth more than the items in it, but that's a rant for another thread.

[ColdSteelTalon]

My mom was born in 45. I was born in 64. I guess that makes me a "BOOM BOOMER".

:)

[Tamar1973]

I was born in 64. I guess that makes me a "BOOM BOOMER".

Actually, you're probably "Generation Jones".